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European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said both sides are running out of time to complete a free-trade agreement before the end of Britain’s transition out of the bloc. He insisted European capitals should not exclude the possibility of a no deal because there are less than 100 days to broker a future relationship pact. Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels, he said: “We are less than 100 days away from the end of the transition period.”

The Brussels bureaucrat claimed the wrangling over a UK-EU trade deal remains “tough” with significant differences to overcome if there is any hope for a deal.

He said Boris Johnson and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to accelerate the negotiations in the coming weeks during a phone call on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Sefcovic said: “They both agreed that some progress had been made but a lot remains to be done.

“We all know where the difficulties are. We all know our mandate, our red lines and our objectives. Our negotiators were instructed to work as hard as they can to finalise an agreement.”

But he warned: “Time is short.” 

Mr Sefcovic said both sides need to conclude an agreement in time for the EU Parliament to rubber-stamp the pact before it can enter into force on January 1, 2021.

“If this is not the case, we will be in the no deal territory, given that we are less than 100 days away from this day, we cannot exclude this scenario,” he added.

“This is why we will continue to work with you and the member states to ensure that we are ready for every scenario.”

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is due to address the bloc’s 27 ambassadors at a private meeting in Brussels tomorrow.

In a leaked preparatory document, member states are informed that “preparedness and readiness work is being stepped up at all levels” for the end of transition.

On the negotiations, the memo states: “After this ninth round, and in spite of further approximation of positions in some chapters, one has to acknowledge that no significant progress could be recorded with respect to the key chapters referred to above.”

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The negotiations are still deadlocked on the key sticking points – future access to Britain’s fishing grounds for EU boats and state subsidies policy.

Mr Barnier is expected to travel to London for midweek negotiations with UK counterpart Lord Frost.

The pair are expected to meet next week in Brussels for further talks ahead of the European Council summit. 

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The gathering of EU leaders is considered the deadline by Downing Street to know whether a deal will be doable or not.

But the negotiations are expected to drag on until November with further formal rounds of wrangling announced in the coming weeks.

Some senior figures in Brussels have even warned a deal might not be found until December.

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